Making a Difference:Taking Forward Our Priorities

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: On 11 May, I published Making a Difference: Taking Forward Our Priorities. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses It is also available on the Department for Constitutional Affairs' website at www.dca.gov.uk/dept/priorities2005.htm.

Defence Bills Agency:Key Performance Targets

Lord Drayson: My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Key targets have been set for the Chief Executive of the Defence Bills Agency (DBA) for the financial year 2005–06. The targets, which build on the already high standards of service provided by the agency since its formation in 1996, are as follows:
	1. To pay 99.9 per cent of correctly presented bills within 11 calendar days of receipt as part of the department's 30-day payment target.
	2. To raise 99 per cent of invoices accurately within four days of receipt of a valid order initiation.
	3. To ensure that the average percentage of overdue collectable debt due to the department does not exceed 26 per cent of total collectable debt.
	4. To deliver 99 per cent of the required accounting and financial information feed to the departmental financial management system portal within one working day.
	5. To make a progressive improvement of at least 1 per cent in the overall level of customer satisfaction over a baseline of 80 per cent achieved in 2004–05.
	6. To make a progressive reduction in the unit costs for bills of at least 3 per cent by March 2006, over the 2004–05 baseline.

Youth Justice Agency of Northern Ireland: Corporate and Business Plans

Lord Rooker: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland (David Hanson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I have placed copies of the Youth Justice Agency's corporate plan for 2005–08 and business plan for 2005–06 in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The business plan contains 10 key performance targets I have set for the service for 2005–06. These are:
	1. All young people sentenced or remanded to the juvenile justice centre for more than one week will have an educational assessment and individual learning plan.
	2. Ninety per cent of all young people sentenced to custody will commence an approved scheme of tackling offending programme during the custodial element of their sentence.
	3. Achieve 80 per cent completion in all community orders supervised by the agency.
	4. No escapes from within the juvenile justice centre.
	5. Over the year no more than 2 per cent of the total new referral/admissions to the agency should be non-accidentally injured.
	6. Over the year no more than 2 per cent of the total members of staff should be non-accidentally injured while engaged in the work of the agency.
	7. No members of the public should be non-accidentally injured while accessing agency services.
	8. Deliver at least 75 per cent of the planned training days specified in the corporate training priorities plan for 2005–06.
	9. Agency expenditure is within approved budgetary limits.
	10. Achieve a victim participation rate of at least 50 per cent at youth conferences.